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A gray 4x4 Sprinter with a roof rack on a two-track through a wildflower meadow, cloud sitting on the mountains behind.

Forest Service campground

Riverside

Forest Service campground in Pike and San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, Park County, Colorado. 19.4 miles from Cripple Creek.

Reserve on Recreation.gov
Managed by
Forest Service Pike and San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
Sites
18 11 tent only non-electric, 7 standard non-electric
Longest rig
50 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Park County

Overview

Riverside Campground lies across the road form South Platte River, providing a scenic base camp for fishing, hiking and rock climbing. The campground is tucked in the Eleven Mile Canyon, a delightful place to view polished granite walls surrounding the open valley of the river.

Wildlife is abundant in the surrounding areas, with opportunities to see elk, mule deer, chipmunks and porcupines.

Recreation

Hard Rock Interpretive Trail, accessible from the campground, is a 1-mile self-guided interpretive walk that leads to an impressive overlook of the canyon. The trail explores the diverse life of the region and offers a chance to see plenty of wildlife and take photos of the sweeping views.

Rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout can be caught from the South Platte River. Benches along the river allow anglers to relax in comfort while waiting for fish to bite.

Facilities

Riverside Campground offers nearly 20 reservable campsites. Parking aprons are grass and gravel and can fit RVs up to 30 feet in length. Tent sites are walk-in only. Each site has a picnic table and a campfire ring. Vault toilets are onsite. Bring your own drinking water.

Natural Features

Riverside has large, open campsites at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The South Platte River flows on the other side of Route 96. Eleven Mile Canyon was carved by the river and is bordered by polished gray granite cliffs.

Downriver is the Eleven Mile Reservoir, spanning 3,405 surface acres and 5 miles in length.

Nearby Attractions

Visitors enjoy the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very different, prehistoric Colorado.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • camping
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • rock climbing

The land around Riverside

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in. The federal record’s point for it sits at a very different height from the one the agency describes, so the pin may be off: trust the directions above over the map.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Nearest campgrounds

Camping near

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated June 18, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.

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